


Get Up

by Yacer_Sho



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, Child Death, Gen, One Shot, Seal the Deal DLC, Snatch-Kid, magic tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22029511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yacer_Sho/pseuds/Yacer_Sho
Summary: It was one simple mistake. Just one simple mistake cost Hat Kid her life.And it was all Snatcher's fault.
Relationships: Hat Kid & Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 168





	Get Up

Hat Kid's bones were aching for the ability to finally take a rest, but the little girl kept pushing forward and clinging to some kind of false hope she managed to drill into the back of her mind. Dried tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy from the pain, but she couldn't rest. She couldn't and wouldn't give up just yet. Not when _he_ was still looking forward to his contracts being finished.

Snatcher was always watching; and she knew that. He wanted her to fail just to belittle her over and over again when she momentarily faints after doing something wrong that causes her demise. Whether it be falling into lava, bonking against the side of a ledge when trying to jump to it, or simply fighting an enemy, he was there. Hat Kid needed to keep pushing forward despite the hardships. After all, Snatcher tried everything in his power to make these contracts difficult. These were _advanced_ contracts. Not for the faint of heart.

Of course... he could have made them a little easier if he knew that a child was completing them. But this contract was... different. This was a fight between her and "Ultra" Snatcher. Simply speaking, his attacks were random and all the more difficult, and if she even dreamed of winning against him, she would need a strategy so cutting-edge that her victory would be obtained at 1 LIFE or more. Unfortunately for Hat Kid, the odds of her winning against a supercharged ghost are 1 to 1,000. And all the while, that smile adorning his face mocked her every time she failed.

* * *

Hat Kid managed to dodge a group of flasks containing blue liquid, which she has discovered can turn Snatcher blue, thus allowing her to attack him from their previous fight. It was a struggle to dodge all the streams of attacks Snatcher laid out for her, but he knew that the kid was capable of dodging them just fine. Although winded and physically exhausted, Hat Kid found it in her heart to keep fighting. She wasn't a quitter and liked getting things done, but dying over and over wasn't something her young body was equipped for. 

As she continued running in a circle to dodge more and more of his attacks, her head started to pulsate and the grip on her umbrella suddenly loosened. It was an odd sensation, almost like an out of body experience while simultaneously working herself to the limit. Her sprint gradually turned into a walk, yet the attacks didn't seem to stop. Letting out a yelp, she felt a flask hit her and smash into little glass bits on her head. Staring at the floor, Hat Kid held her head in pain and felt like something wasn't right. She was going to resurrect once she dies, right? Why does this experience feel so different? Why does it hurt so much? Is she... dying?

Snatcher, adorning his signature smile, turned to her and laughed. "What's the matter, kid? Giving up already?"

The purple spirit noticed Hat Kid swaying on her feet and saw the bits and pieces of glass strewn about the floor. Her hand slowly slid off of the top of her head, taking some glass with it. Blood found its way into her hair, and Snatcher couldn't help but wince a little. As Hat Kid looked at her hand, her eyes blinked, but no life could be seen in them. Her brain was processing pain, but Hat Kid was in a trance-like state. The concept of pain meant nothing to her right now.

"Awww, what?" Snatcher exclaimed as Hat Kid looked up at him.

He "paused" the attacks so he could have a conversation with her. "You think I'm going to go easy on you just because you went and gave yourself a head-wound? Oh, don't be such a wimp! Here, I'll even make it easier for you. Free hearts! My treat." Tossing them her direction, Hat Kid attempts to grab them, but her arm barely manages to lift up before the hearts she so desperately needed were tossed aside and bounced when making contact with the ground.

Blinking once, Hat Kid found herself barely processing the scoff that came out of Snatcher. "Really? You're not going to accept my offer? Even when you're in that sorry state?" 

Hat Kid just shrugged and picked the tiny bits of glass out of her hair despite Snatcher's confused expression. "I don't want them."

This drove Snatcher to burst out in laughter and snap his fingers, resuming the fight. "Fine then! If you want to die so badly... then let's do this."

Flasks fell at her feet and beams were aimed at her tiny form, but she only stood there, wobbling from side to side. In a last minute attempt to flee, Hat Kid tried to run counter-clockwise as soon as a wave of beams began to form around her. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough, and the beams struck. She lost all of her life, and she was gone.

Letting out a cry, Hat Kid spun to the floor and landed with a slide. She hit her back on the wall of the arena once she stopped, and her body went limp. Blue eyes stared lifelessly at the ground and her mouth hung open in a sick and twisted excuse of pain. There was nothing Hat Kid could do to fix this... She was trapped in her own dead body. A _corpse._

Immediately realizing his victory, Snatcher began to laugh again. "Killing you is hard work! But it pays off, kiddo. Now come on, get up. It's no use sitting there gawking at your defeat, just get back up and let's try this thing again."

Hat Kid didn't move, but she could hear him talking to her. She wanted to tell him that she was okay, and that she would be back as soon as possible. But this wasn't the case, at least, not right now. Her body couldn't take anymore of the pain and the feeling of death. But she didn't want to make him worry. 

"Snatcher! I'm alright! Something is... Something is wrong!" She tried pleading, but he didn't hear. Hat Kid tried again. "Snatcher! Please, I-I... I don't want you to think I'm dead."

_Oh. Oh no._

Snatcher killed her. He's the one that did this. Why should she care about him? He's the one that keeps giving her all these dumb contracts! They're supposed to be best friends, so why isn't he living up to that? Why doesn't he care about her more? Snatcher hates her... He's said it from day one, and was probably looking forward to this moment.

"Snatch-" Her sentence trailed off as soon as she made eye contact with the purple ghost. The beams and flasks had all but dispersed as he shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

Snatcher, the terrifying protector and ruler of the Subcon Forest, who claims that he can get rid of fools faster than the snap of a finger, was _ashamed_ of what he had done to the little girl. Climbing out of the green liquid, Snatcher floats to her side and inspects her lifeless form.

"Kid? Haha-Hey... Get up. Come on, you still gotta complete this contract! I'll even go easier on you this time." He nudged her in the shoulder, hoping for some kind of reaction to shake her out of this strange daze. "You haven't blinked for quite awhile, kiddo. You could dry your eyes out that way!" Snatcher joked, but he couldn't tell if Hat Kid heard it. How long has it been since she last blinked?

His eyes trailed to her mouth, which was still slightly open. "...And close your mouth! You'll let the bugs in!"

Hat Kid refused to move, and what Snatcher feared the most came true. He drove her to the edge; he _killed_ her. Snatcher didn't hate Hat Kid, not by a long shot, but he needed to show her that the world can throw punches, and if she wanted to live, she needed to fight along with it. 

"I'm not going to play these games with you, young lady. Get. Up." He demanded sternly. Even so, her chest was not rising and falling. This wasn't normal, but why wasn't she coming back? Why hadn't she demanded a rematch or gave up from being so sore? 

For the first time since being a ghost, he's scared. Snatcher was scared of losing the only thing in the world that wasn't afraid of him. He... loved Hat Kid. She was a little brat, sure, but a friend.

"Get up, kid." Golden tears started falling from his jack o'lantern eyes and he began to shake Hat Kid's shoulders in an attempt to wake her up. "G-Get up. I won't fight you anymore. H-Here, I'll let you win. Isn't that what you want?" His tears fell onto her pale face as he tried everything in his power to do _something._ Her life wasn't going to end this way. He was going to make sure of it. Cradling her in his arms, his ghostly body sinks to the ground with Hat Kid lying on his "lap".

It finally dawned on Snatcher got he _brutally_ murdered Hat Kid over and over during their battles, but he didn't feel anything before. Why now, when he has her in his arms and wishing for her to do something to show that she was alive did he finally care? 

As he continued to plead with her to get up, his golden tears began to harden and turn the skin underneath the gold a mysterious shade of purple, much like his own ghostly body. The gold began to spread, and for a second Snatcher thought she was going to be revived. Unfortunately, he was wrong; Hat Kid's entire body, including her clothes, began to be covered by his tears and the hardened shell of gold made crackling sounds as he finished crying. He didn't want to revive her this way... but he had no choice.

"Hat Kid? Get up, now. It's alright." Snatcher said, and tapped the hardened gold with his hand. It began to fall away and reveal Hat Kid's now ghostly appearance, almost like the gold was the "shell" of her former self. She was a spirit like him now, complete with glowing yellow eyes and a glowing yellow mouth. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she yawns, and Snatcher can't help but feel some kind of relief. 

"Snatcher?" Her little voice asked, completely oblivious to the situation at hand. "What's going on? Where am I?"

Snatcher sighed and allowed Hat Kid to jump off his lap as he floated back up. "Don't worry about that right now. But it's alright, I'll take care of you."

Hat Kid tilted her head to the side, not really understanding what he meant. When she was turned into ghost, the only recognition of her life was that her name is Hat Kid, and his name is Snatcher. Grasping his hand, she gives him a smile and follows him through Subcon Forest, where the two of them will stay.

Now and forever.


End file.
